2002 – Massachusetts Department of Public Health agrees to conduct a cancer cluster study in Norton and Attleboro at the urging of residents who suspect their cancers were caused by wastes dumped in the landfills.Testing confirms groundwater is contaminated with volatile organic compounds.

Pittsfield, Berkshire County

General Electric Landfill along Housatonic River

1980s – Newell Street residents discover that their properties are on top of waste

from General Electric.PCBs are on over 100 properties.

1999 – Residents report many cancers in Newell Street neighborhood.

Wilmington, Middlesex County

Olin Chemical Dump

1999 – Kelly Hill residents contact Massachusetts Department of Public Health after a number of children are diagnosed with brain cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

2001 – Adults who attended a girl scout camp by Alcyon Lake in the 1970s

settle a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against companies that used the landfill,

claiming their cancers and other illnesses were caused by chemicals in the dump.

Ringwood, Passaic County

Ringwood Mines/Landfill, Peters Mine Road

1967 to 1971 – Ford Motor Company dumps toluene, xylene,

ethylbenzene, arsenic, PCBs and lead into Cannon Mine and Peter’s Mine.

2005 – State officials report that people living in the area have a higher

incidence of lung and bladder cancers, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Sayreville, Middlesex County

Sayreville Landfill II, and Sayreville Landfill III

Toms River, Ocean County

Ciba-Geigy Chemical Dump, Reich Farm Dump, and Dover Township Dump

2001 – A six-year government study links childhood cancers to drinking water contaminated by chemicals in the Ciba-Geigy Dump.

NEW YORK

Elmira, Chemung County

Southside High School on top of Remington Rand Dump

2000 – Government officials begin investigating a possible cancer cluster at the school. High concentrations of chromium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are found at dozens of spots in the athletic fields.

1980s – Residents are relocated after studies show childhood illnesses and high rate of birth defects.

2004 – Love Canal neighborhood is renamed Black Creek Village

Bronx, New York City

Adlai Stevenson High School

1994 – At least 36 teachers have been diagnosed with cancer since the school opened, 16 have died.

The neighborhood was marshland before developers brought in landfill and built private homes,

apartment buildings and the high school.

Pelham Bay Municipal Dump

2006 – High incidence of leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease in neighborhood surrounding dump

Staten Island, New York City

Fresh Kills Landfill, Brookfield Landfill

2004 – Residents with cancer who live within blocks of the landfills are still waiting for their day

in court after suing the city in 1993. Benzene, lead, mercury and other toxins have contaminated groundwater on 3,000 acres of former wetlands.

Manhattan, New York City

Landfill beneath World Trade Center and Battery Park City

Otego, Otsego County

Otego Landfill

2005 – New York Senator Charles E. Schumer announces he has written the federal Environmental Protection Agency urging immediate and thorough investigation of the Otego Landfill after residents living near the dump contact him, voicing concern that chemicals from the dump are causing cancers and birth defects.

Long Island (multiple cancer clusters)

– three aquifers are the sole source of Long Island fresh drinking water

stomach polyps and cancer were caused by chemicals dumped at the landfill.

Toone, Hardeman County

Velsicol Chemical Company Landfill

1978 – EPA warns residents near the landfill not to drink water from their wells.

Residents file a $2.5 billion class-action suit claiming that their cancers and other

illnesses were caused by exposure to chemicals from the landfill.

1986 – U.S. District Judge rules that Velsicol Chemical Company is liable for contamination of

Toone’s water supply and awards over $22 million in damages to residents.

TEXAS

Corpus Christie, Nueces County

Landfill adjacent to Cunningham Junior High School

2006 – High cancer rate among graduates of Cunningham Junior High School.

Houston, Harris County

Gulf Waste Oil Pits beneath Kennedy Heights neighborhood

1997 – 1,400 residents file a lawsuit alleging that sludge from oil pits contaminated their drinking water supply and caused health problems including lupus, birth defects, brain tumors and cancers.Toxicologist Marvin Legator of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston testifies that Kennedy Heights residents were exposed to PAHs through their water.

Houston, Harris County

Brio Refinery, Inc. Dump

1982 – Southbend subdivision is built adjacent to the dump

1989 – Residents conduct a health survey and find high rates of miscarriages and birth defects

1992 – Six chemical companies and the developer agree to buy the Southbend homes.

Houston, Harris County

Booker Landfill adjacent to Acres Homes subdivision

2001 – For six years residents have been asking the city of Houston to investigate and cleanup the landfill that was shut down more than 20 years ago.Since then, around 70 residents have developed cancer and 22 have died.

UTAH

Spanish Fork, Utah County

Spanish Fork Ranch subdivision built on top of closed Spanish Fork Landfill

2001 – Residents who suffered illnesses and hair loss sue the developer who built their community.The County Health Department orders all homes moved.

VERMONT

Rutland, Rutland County

Rutland Town Elementary School built on contaminated fill soils. Faculty reports high rate of cancer.

WEST VIRGINIA

Chafin Hollow, Chauncey, Logan County

Old town dump used by Omar mercantile is beneath Omar Elementary School